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Human Trafficking Download Pamphlet The United Nations defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means (such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion) for an improper purpose including forced labor or sexual exploitation. [1] Human smuggling, a related but different crime, generally involves the consent of the person(s) being smuggled. These people often pay large sums of money to be smuggled across international borders. Once in the country of their final destination, they are generally left to their own devices. Smuggling becomes trafficking when the element of force or coercion is introduced. The U.S. Government defines human trafficking as:
CONTROL (Visit Website) How do Traffickers Control their Victims? Traffickers use three principal methods, force, fraud and coercion, to instill fear in and control their victims. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, violence is used especially during the initial period after a person has been trafficked in order to break his or her resistance, which in turn, makes it easier to control the person. Commonly used methods of force include rape, beatings and confinement. Fraud involves false advertisements and is used to lead people into situations where it is easier to traffic them. For instance, women in other countries responding to job advertisements for waitresses, seamstresses, maids, dancers, etc. may find themselves trafficked for forced labor or prostitution once they arrive to the United States. Coercion uses the threat of physical violence or (and sometimes actual physical violence) to control a victim and prevent them from escaping or seeking help. For instance, a trafficker may make threats not only against the person, but also against his/her family. Traffickers may also threaten to shame victims by exposing their true circumstances to their families. Other common threats include those of imprisonment or deportation for immigration violations if a victim contacts the authorities. In addition to the methods noted above, traffickers often use debt bondage and isolate their victims from the public, family members and members of their ethnic and religious communities. People trafficked to the United States from other countries will find their passports and other identifying documents confiscated upon arrival. Traffickers also hold their victim's money, sometimes for alleged "safe-keeping". National Human Trafficking Resources: Polaris Project Worldwide Directory of Modern Slavery Organizations Launches About Polaris Polaris is a leader in the global fight to eradicate modern slavery. Named after the North Star that guided slaves to freedom in the U.S., Polaris acts as a catalyst to systemically disrupt the human trafficking networks that rob human beings of their lives and their freedom. By working with government leaders, the world's leading technology corporations, and local partners, Polaris equips communities to identify, report, and prevent human trafficking. Our comprehensive model puts victims at the center of what we do – helping survivors restore their freedom, preventing more victims, and leveraging data and technology to pursue traffickers wherever they operate. Learn more at www.polarisproject.org. * Human Trafficking Trends in the U.S. * BeFree Texting Statistics * Sex Trafficking in the U.S. * Labor Trafficking in the U.S. * Recognizing the Signs * International Trafficking OTHERS TraffickFREE Transitions The Salvation Army Stop the Traffik Free the Slaves Shared Hope International International Justice Mission Not for Sale Zonta International The A21 Campaign Youth Spark The US Department of Justice Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit World Health Organization United Nations US Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement US Department of State - Visa Information © UnitedAgainstInjustice.org Data and Research on Human TraffickingArticle first published online: 8 JUN 2005 DOI: 10.1111/j.0020-7985.2005.00309.x Issue International Migration Volume 43, Issue 1-2, pages 5–16, January 2005 Human Trafficking E-mail Print Pimps use violence and coercion to commercially sexually exploit young women and girls. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. Although slavery is commonly thought to be a thing of the past, human trafficking still exists today throughout the United States and globally when traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control other people for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex or forcing them to provide labor services against their will. Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to trap victims in horrific situations every day in America. All trafficking victims share one essential experience – the loss of freedom. In the United States, sex trafficking commonly occurs in online escort services, residential brothels, brothels disguised as massage businesses or spas, and in street prostitution. Labor trafficking has been found in domestic servitude situations, as well as sales crews, large farms, restaurants, carnivals, and more. There are two primary factors driving the spread of human trafficking: high profits and low risk. Like drug and arms trafficking, human trafficking is a market-driven criminal industry that is based on the principles of supply and demand. Every year, traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people around the world, including here in the United States. Learn more about human trafficking at www.traffickingresourcecenter.org. Key statistics
As defined under U.S. law, victims of human trafficking can be divided into three populations:
Victims face many challenges in accessing help. Their traffickers may confiscate their identification and money. They may not speak English. They may not know where they are, because they have been moved frequently. They are often not allowed to communicate with family or friends. And they may have trouble trusting others, due to their traffickers’ manipulation and control tactics. THE TRAFFICKERS Traffickers lure and ensnare people into forced labor and sex trafficking by manipulating and exploiting their vulnerabilities. Human traffickers recruit, transport, harbor, obtain, and exploit victims – often using force, threats, lies, or other psychological coercion. Traffickers promise a high-paying job, a loving relationship, or new and exciting opportunities. In other cases, they may kidnap victims or use physical violence to control them. Often the traffickers and their victims share the same national, ethnic, or cultural background, allowing the trafficker to better understand and exploit the vulnerabilities of their victims. Traffickers can be lone individuals or extensive criminal networks. Pimps, gangs, family members, labor brokers, employers of domestic servants, small business owners, and large factory owners have all been found guilty of human trafficking. Their common thread is a willingness to exploit other human beings for profit. |
Child Labor FAST Facts (for full article)
Why child labor perpetuates poverty: 1. It is a short-term fix for parents to send their children to work. If parents have jobs, they are paid so little that they feel their children must work in order for the family to survive. However, it is child labor that actually brings down the overall average wages. 2. Parents themselves do not have jobs. Janice Bellace observed that “Any country that has high levels of child labor also has high adult unemployment.” The reason is simple - children provide cheap labor. Why would a company employ an adult who costs more when they can put children to work and pay them substantially less? 3. People and governments believe that child labor is necessary for the survival of families. People from the higher castes in India believe that children working to help provide for their families is actually a benefit. Many people I spoke to about the issue of child labor think they are doing a good thing by employing children to work in their homes as maids or in their businesses. 4. There is an abundance of jobs for unskilled labor and jobs requiring smaller physical features (size, agility, etc.). Mines seek children because of their small size and factories favor employing children for shoe-making, sewing and rug weaving due to their small fingers. Young children working a full day are more likely to get hurt or killed because their attention spans are shorter and their minds wander; consequently, accidents occur. “Child labour may be seen as a short-term solution to economic hardship, but it is actually a cause of poverty.” -- Jo Becker, Children’s Rights Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch What is child labour (IJS) Considerable differences exist between the many kinds of work children do. Some are difficult and demanding, others are more hazardous and even morally reprehensible. Children carry out a very wide range of tasks and activities when they work. Defining child labour Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children’s development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life. The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that:
Child labour distribution by branch of economic activity The agriculture sector comprises activities in agriculture, hunting forestry, and fishing. The industry sector includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, and public utilities (electricity, gas and water). The services sector consists of wholesale and retail trade; restaurants and hotels; transport, storage, and communications; finance, insurance, real-estate, and business services; and community as well as social personal services. The worst forms of child labour Whilst child labour takes many different forms, a priority is to eliminate without delay the worst forms of child labour as defined by Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 182: (a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; (c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; (d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. Labour that jeopardises the physical, mental or moral well-being of a child, either because of its nature or because of the conditions in which it is carried out, is known as “hazardous work”. International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) IPEC
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